1. Refrain from giving out vital personal information about yourself such as your home address, telephone number, work address/telephone or the location of your office.

For teenagers or students do not give out personal information for your parents or your own information, such as the name and location of your school or your daily schedule. Giving this kind of information out exposes your and your family to danger.

2. Never ever get together with someone you just met online. Bring a friend or a family member with you. Never, ever meet them alone. It’s better to be safe than to be sorry afterward if things got wrong. If you do meet, be sure to do so in a very public place for added safety.

3. Don’t send your picture or anything else without first checking the background of the person to whom you’re sending the photos. Use instinct and good judgment.

If you feel like uncomfortable and uncertain whether you should send the photo or not, the best decision is not to send. Try asking for his or her photo instead and try to learn more about the background of the person.

4. Avoid responding to mean messages or any message that makes you feel uncomfortable. Responding only encourages more nasty messages to be sent to you.

Don’t waste your time and effort on meaningless messages unless you are the type of person who loves being harassed by other people. Report or contact the chat room administrator for help in disciplining rude posters.

5. Never brag. While it’s true no one will know whether what you are saying is true or not, who cares? The problem with bragging during chats is that in a way you are sending out a signal to those who could defraud you. Your best bet is to limit any information about yourself that you may want to brag about online.

6. If you want to be respected while chatting online, be sure to use respectable usernames or nicknames for posting. Especially for women, avoid sexually suggestive names that will arouse the wrong kind of attention, and less than decent conversations.

When deciding on a name to use think about your best qualities and the kind of persons you want to attract.

7. Maintain an appropriate decorum in chat rooms; If you want a sex-oriented conversation to go to an adult site that encourages that kind of behavior. However, if you are looking for a serious relationship, adult sites are not for you as most of the chapters there are simply looking for fun and sex.